The Great Domain Dash Dilemma - Should Your Domain Name Have Dashes?

You've probably been told that if you put dashes in your domain name, you can help secure better search engine rankings for your chosen keyword phrase. So, if you have a website about "Spiderman Toys", a good domain name might be spiderman-toys.com (if it were actually available!).

But what about your visitors that may want to visit your website again? Can they remember the dashes? The domain dash dilemma is very real and is something you must consider before you name your website. Thankfully, you can register multiple domains for your marketing materials and to get good search engine rankings. And manydomain name providers offer free forwarding, so you can easily forward your "marketing domain name" to the domain name you chose for search engines.

Here's an article by Nicholas Dixon with some thoughts on domain dash subject:

Is your Domain Costing You Traffic?

You visited a great website some time ago that had some fantastic information on it. It is not easily found in search engines results so you decide to type the domain name into your favorite browser. The problem is that the url spells out something like keyword-keyword-keyword-keyword-keyword.com.

Does that sound ethical to you? It maybe helpful with those search engine rankings but for many visitors that can be a pain in you know what to type out.

For years I worked in an internet café and was surprised to know that many persons can’t type in a hyphen. Instead of finding out how to do it, they just move on to an alternate site hence a loss of traffic.

The average computer user can be a lazy fellow indeed. That’s why there are so many keyboard shortcuts. He needs to complete his task as soon as possible.

Ever wonder why the Googles, Yahoos, Amazons and Ebays of the online world are so successful? It’s because there domain name play a significant role in there branding.

There are countless persons logging on for the first time each day in search of information that can assist them in the iniation process. It is imperative that your domain name play a major part in creating a bond with your viewers.

For almost four years I marketed a free website that was hosted on Geocities. My “domain” spelt out Geocities.com/Myname which made marketing feel like running with an anchor tied to my legs. I can’t even imagine the amount of traffic and credibility that I lost due to that single factor.

Does it work? It can and sometimes it won’t. I believe that having a domain with too many words in it can be a turnoff just like having a Geocities site. It seems unprofessional for a company to have a name that contrasts the credibility that they are trying to create.

Some domain names are like a cargo train several comportments long. Why? Since some search engines do not give any significance to the meta keyword tag, some webmasters fill their domain with their keywords.

A good domain does not guarantee success as I found out. But a memorable and easy to spell name can be beneficial to both you and your visitors. You can have an easier time reaching them and they will have an easier time finding you with a quick type in of your domain.

I think it is best to put your keywords for each page in your file name. That way you, the search engines and your viewers all win.